TUMWATER — At times on Friday night, the Tumwater offense wasn’t doing its part.
The unit helped the Thunderbirds build a big lead early, but instead of running away with the game, it sputtered, allowing W.F. West to hang around.
The Tumwater defense did more than hold its own, though, coming away with a whopping eight takeaways to lead the Thunderbirds to a 41-20 victory, one that clinched the EvCo title.
“It’s the most that I can remember,” Tumwater coach William Garrow said of his defense with a smile. “An incredible performance by those guys. The coaches did a really good job putting defensive backs in the right positions, and the kids played really well … Kudos to those guys.”
The unit’s dominance started early.
After Tumwater scored on its opening possession, it recovered a W.F. West fumble on the third play of the Bearcats’ first drive. On the next possession, Ethan Bello came down with an interception on the first play.
A few drives later, a backwards pass from Wyatt Hoffman hit the turf, and the Tumwater D-line sprinted over to jump on the loose ball.
Early on, the Tumwater offense was taking advantage of the short fields.
Blake Heryford, Tyler Briscoe, Peyton Davis, and Jayden Hinchcliffe all hit pay dirt in the first 13-plus minutes of the game, and the T-Birds held a commanding 27-0 lead.
After that, the W.F. West defense began winning up front. They forced multiple punts in a row, giving the offense the chance to cut away at the deficit.
The Bearcats were able to get back into it, as Wyatt Hoffman ran in a touchdown before halftime, and he also found Connor Coleman on a slant in the end zone in the third.
Just like that, despite having committed five turnovers at that point, it was only a two-score game.
“Our guys kept believing and battled,” W.F. West coach Dan Hill said.
On the next drive, the Tumwater offense found its groove again.
A long Davis run set up a Grady Wall touchdown, and Wall scored again early in the fourth to rebuild the lead.
“We played uncharacteristically poorly for stretches there,” Garrow said. “We had some lulls, and things just weren’t clicking. But I’m really pleased with the grit of the kids.”
On the next drive, Bello brought in his third interception of the day, putting the Tumwater defense at eight.
Bello also had four tackles and three pass breakups, Wyatt Chase added nine tackles and a pick, and Heryford came down with five tackles and an interception. Wall finished with seven tackles, including two for loss, and Charlie Crawford had five tackles, two pass breakups, and a fumble recovery.
Offensively, Davis tallied 121 rushing yards and his TD, Wall finished with 73 and his pair of touchdowns, and Briscoe added 120 total yards and a touchdown.
“I’m proud of the kids,” Garrow said. “It’s a good win, and that’s a really good team.”
On the other sideline, Hill was understandably frustrated with the amount of turnovers, but he was also not shying away from the expectations he still has for this group.
“We got a great football team,” Hill said. “We’re still a young team. When we get these games that are real, they’re all learning experiences. These guys are sponges, and they get better, and they’re still hungry.”
Hoffman finished with 355 total yards and his two total touchdowns. Jalen Amoroso logged 72 yards on four catches, Graysen Serl tallied 50 yards on five catches, and Coleman finished with 43 yards on his seven catches, including the touchdown.
W.F. West (6-2, 2-1 2A EvCo) will finish its regular season back at Tumwater District Stadium on Thursday against Black Hills.
“Next week’s about getting things cleaned up,” Hill said. “I think we got a crew that can make a run. I hope we keep winning football games and maybe we get to play them again.”
Tumwater (7-1, 3-0 2A EvCo) won’t have a game next week, as Centralia has forfeited its Week 9 matchup against the Thunderbirds.
The T-Birds made some calls to try and find a Week 9 opponent on short rest, but decided to take the bye heading into their Week 10 playoff matchup.
Garrow said this week of practice will be a normal one, and then his players will have Friday and Saturday off before they find out their opponent next Sunday, Nov. 2.
In the meantime, the T-Birds will take the weekend to celebrate their 34th league title in school history, including their 14th since 2010.
“It’s something that our kids and our coaches and our program is proud of,” Garrow said. “It’s great for our kids. I’m super happy for them and proud of them.”
